James sample



(Mo Mod e1.)

J. SAMPLE. 1 Automatic Disconneoting Gear for Ships Baa/u. No. 233,027.

Patented 00;. 5, 1880.

Wra /f Trice.

PATENT JAMES SAMPLE, OF BLYTH, GREAT BRITAIN.

AUTOMATIC DISCONNECTING-GEAR FQR SHIPS BOATS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 233,027, dated October5, 1880,

Application filed August 19, 1880.

To all whom it may concern Be it known thatI, JAMES SAMPLE, of Blyth, inthe county of Northumberland, Kingdom of Great Britain, have invented anew and useful Improvement in Automatic Disconnecting- Gear for ShipsBoats, of which the following is a specification.

My improved gear is attached solely to the boat, and so arranged thatthe ordinary davits and running-gear may be used without alteration; Ateach end of the boat I place a hinged hook, which, with a detent, iscapable of forming a loop, into which the hook or loop of the davitrunning-gear may take, and vice versa. Along the bottom of the boat, andpreferably along its central axis, runs a rod or bar provided withsuitable guides, each end being turned upward and jointed to the shorterend of a bell-crank lever working in a suitable bracket or bearing, thelonger end projecting nearly or quite in the same direction as the longrod just mentioned. Jointed or hinged to the end of each of thesebell-crank arms is a vertical rod, one of which-by preference that atthe stern--carries a suitable weight, or is itself made heavy, and thetop end of each of these vertical rods is jointed orhinged to one endofthe before-named detent, said detent being pivoted so as to work withthe movement of the vertical rods, and it will be noticed (and is animportant feature in this invention) that should one of these detentsmove the other must move with it, and should one hook become detachedthe other must also.

Reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which like figuresrepresent like parts, Figure l is a sectional elevation of a boat fittedwith this improved gear, the gear being set as when carrying a boat.Fig. 2 is a similar view, but the gear is shown detached, the ordinarydavit-hooks being shown hangin g free above. Fig. 3 is an enlarged sideview of the bow-hook, bracket, and detent; and Fig. 4, an enlarged endview of same.

A is the stern-hook; B, the bow-hook; O, the connecting-rod at thebottom of the boat D, the bell-crank working in brackets or bearings D;E, the vertical rods; E, the weight upon one of the vertical rods; F,the hooks G, the brackets; H, the detents; I, the tog- (No model.)Patented in England June 16, 1879.

gle-pin, and K the running-gear blocks, hooks, &c., of the ordinarydav'itfittings.

As shown in Fig. 1, the boat is securely held because the detents H havea firm hold on the ends of the hooks F, and the heavier the boat or thegreater the weight the more securely these detents hold. Now, it theboat be lowered in a rough sea and one end only be held up bya wave, thehooks will not be released, because, although one end be free fromweight and the ropes or chains previously supporting it quite slack,still that detent cannot fall unless the other fall with it; but thiscannot happen so long as the weight of the other end of the boat is uponit. This remark applies to either end, as the weight E, which is small,(genererally about ten-pounds weight,) and only required for the purposeof overcoming the frietion ofjoints, 850., affects both detents equally.

So soon, however, as the boat is fully waterborne, no matter whetherupon an even keel or with one end very much raised, and the weight isthereby taken off both ends, the weight E instantly drops, taking thedetents off the hooks, which fly up, as shown in Fig. 2, and the boat isreleased at both ends simultaneously.

To reset the hooks, 850., ready for hooking on again, it is onlynecessary to throw the hooks F over into position, as in Fig. 1, raisethe detents, and hook on in the ordinary manner. 1f the boat is to bepermanently fixed, as on board a vessel going to sea, the togglepin Ishould be inserted in the hole I, which secures the detents so that theycannot drop off until wanted for use, when the pin is removed and thegearbecomes automatic at once.

If preferred, loops may be substituted for the davit-hooks, so as toavoid any possibility of their slipping out ofthe hooks F. I11 practice,however, 1 find that the ordinary hooks do perfectly well.

The material of which I make this gear is generally galvanized ironthroughout, and for the long rod 0, Iprefer to employ pipe. Quanter-inch iron gas-pipe, galvanized, I have used with success, and preferit as being light, sufficien tly rigid for my purpose, and easilyfitted. All joints should be quite loose and the pins loose in theirholes, so as to avoid all likelihood of their sticking. Other materials,such as brass, for instance, might be used; but the galvanizediron ischeap, substantial, and durable, and for general work I prefer to employit.

All, or nearly all, the parts of this apparatus can be easily boxed inwith wood or metal to protect them from injury, and, though not reallynecessary, it is better to adopt this course.

The brackets Gr can be made either with or without the projection G; butI prefer to have the projection, as it protects the detents from dam ageby the davit-hooks dropping upon them in the case of the ropes or chainsbecoming slack.

I am aware that the same end could be attained by several modificationsof the method herein described, and shown in the drawings. One suchmodification is to place a rocking shaft along the bottom of the boatworkin gin suitable bearings instead of travelin lengthwise, as in theformer case. Weighted cross-levers and vertical rods carry up the motionto the detents, as before.

Another way of obtaining the simultaneous movement of the detents is tohave the long rod in form of two levers, eye-jointed in the center oftheir length, each half working upon a fulcrum at or near its center,the center portion being heavier than the ends, and the outer endsconnected to the vertical rods, as before. When the weight is taken offthe heavy center part drops and releases the hooks by withdrawing thedetents.

Having now described my invention and the method of performing the same,I wish it to be understood that what I claim, and desire to protect byLetters Patent, is-- 1. In an automatic boat-detaching gear, a pivotedbow and stern hook and their pivoted retaining-loops or detents,arranged as set forth, in combination with connecting-levers and rod anda weight, arranged and operating to automatically and simultaneouslydisengage both hooks from their retaining-loops by the slack of thesupporting-tackle, substantially as described.

2. In an automatic boat-detaching gear, a horizontalvibratingbarhavingweighted crosslevers atits ends, forming a connectionbetween the detents H, in combination with the hooks F F, substantiallyas described, and operating as set forth.

3. In an automatic boat-detaching gear, the connecting-rod 0, formed oftwo sections, rock- 'ing upon a central pivot and pivoted together attheir inner weighted ends, forming, with the vertical rod E, aconnection between the detents H, in combination with the hooks F,substantially as described, and operating as set forth.

4. In an automatic boat-detaching gear, the combination, with thepivoted bow and stern hooks and their pivoted retaining-loops ordetents, arranged as set forth, of the connectingrod 0, bell-cranklevers D,lever E, and weighted lever E, arranged and operating as andfor the purposes specified.

JAMES SAMPLE.

Witnesses:

THOMAS SMART, J r., J OSEPH TUNNEY.

